High-flying Girona reclaimed top spot in La Liga after beating champions Barcelona 4-2 away on Sunday, condemning Xavi Hernández’s side to their second league defeat of the season.
Artem Dovbyk put Girona in front in the 12th minute with a shot that bounced in off the bottom of the post before Robert Lewandowski equalised seven minutes later, heading home following a corner.
Miguel Gutiérrez restored Girona’s lead before half-time and Valery Fernández made it 3-1 in the 80th minute. Ilkay Gündogan pulled another goal back for Barça before Cristhian Stuani scored their fourth in stoppage time.
Girona top the table with 41 points from 16 games. Barcelona are fourth on 34 points, level with third-placed Atletico Madrid.
The La Liga game between Granada and Athletic Bilbao was abandoned after a supporter died having suffered a cardiac arrest in the stands, both clubs said.
The game was initially suspended in the 17th minute as paramedics tried to resuscitate the fan and it was eventually abandoned an hour later. The date for the resumption of the match, in which Bilbao were leading 1-0 following a goal by Iñaki Williams in the sixth minute, will be announced soon, La Liga said.
Atlético Madrid beat Almería 2-1 with first-half goals from Álvaro Morata and Ángel Correa, extending the bottom side’s winless league streak to 16 games. The victory moved Atlético to third, level with Barcelona on 34 points.
Antoine Griezmann had a goal ruled out for offside by VAR but he helped his side take the lead in the 17th minute when he won the ball high up the pitch before he found Morata, who dribbled into the box and rounded the goalkeeper to score.
Correa doubled the lead five minutes later when Marcos Llorente provided the cross from out wide for the forward to tap in from close range, another goalscoring move that was orchestrated by Griezmann.
Almería halved the deficit through Léo Baptistão, who scored just after the hour-mark when the Brazilian forward pounced on a loose ball after Atlético’s Jan Oblak made a save.
Almería, the only La Liga side yet to win a game this season, had their chances in the second half to steal a point, but Oblak stood firm to deny the visitors as Diego Simeone’s side returned to winning ways after losing to Barcelona last weekend.
SOURCE: The Guardian
